The Jerk (1979)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Carl Reiner

Writers:

Steve Martin (story) &
Carl Gottlieb (story) ...

Release Date:

14 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

From rags to riches... to rags.

Plot:

A complete imbecile struggles to make it through life on his own, until a strange invention makes him unbelievably wealthy.

Plot Keywords:

Bathtub | Butler | Moonshine | Cult Favorite | Gas Station

Cast

Steve Martin	...	Navin R. Johnson / Cat Juggler / Pig Eye Jackson / Engineer Fred (also as Pig Eye Jackson)
Bernadette Peters	...	Marie Kimble Johnson
Catlin Adams	...	Patty Bernstein
Mabel King	...	Mother
Richard Ward	...	Father
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Taj Jonson
Bill Macy	...	Stan Fox
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Madman
Dick O'Neill	...	Frosty
Maurice Evans	...	Hobart
Helena Carroll	...	Hester
Ren Woods	...	Elvira Jonson (as Ren Wood)
Pepe Serna	...	Punk #1 in Blue Chevy
Sonny Terry	...	Blues Singer
Brownie McGhee	...	Blues Singer (as Brownie McGee)

Also Known As:

Easy Money (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1980) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:M | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Devonshire Downs - Devonshire Street at Zelzah Avenue, Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Aspen Film Society

Trivia:

The tag number for the blue coupe (a Chevrolet Monte Carlo) was J3S 762

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Navin and Marie are singing the song on the beach, Navin's hand strumming the ukulele is not synchronized with the audio track.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Navin R. Johnson: Huh? I am not a bum. I'm a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: my friends and... uh... my thermos. Huh? My story? Okay. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Steve Martin/Prince (#31.12)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

You Belong To Me

Laugh so hard, you'll miss half the movie

I'm glad that I didn't see this in the theatre, because when I watched it the first time on video, I needed to pause the movie several times just to catch my breath from laughing so hard! Wait a minute...was that the first time, or the tenth time? Playing Navin R. Johnson, the white son of a black family, Steve Martin leaves home to find "his special purpose." By the end of the movie, we all know what that was...to entertain his fans the way he has! As for Navin's special purpose, if you haven't already seen the movie, you aren't going to get any more information than what's here. It takes intelligence to play a complete idiot, and Steve Martin does the job extremely well. Also take note of Martin's costar Bernadette Peters, and the cameo appearances by Jackie Mason and Carl Reiner. Whoever wrote that people who watch "The Jerk" will be quoting its jokes for years after was absolutely right. This was the funniest of Steve Martin's movies!